God of War: Ascension Director Leaves Sony Santa Monica

Yesterday was my last day @SonySantaMonica. I'm extremely honored to have been part of that team. <3 you SSM!
Time for the next adventure!!— Todd Papy (@ToddPapy) November 2, 2013

Todd Papy won't be leaving games, but will be moving across the pond to Germany.

Todd Papy, director for this year's God of War: Ascension, has announced via Twitter that he has left Sony Santa Monica, development home for the God of War series. In later Tweets, Papy wrote that he plans to stay in games and will be moving to Germany "to experience a different culture and all the wonderful things Europe has to offer." So far, nothing has been mentioned about what new studio, if any, Papy will be joining. According to Papy's LinkedIn profile, he has previously served as a design director for Sony Computer Entertainment and God of War 3, a game designer for Atari and a designer and artist for Midway Games.

While Papy is making his farewells to Sony Santa Monica, another God of War recently returned to the studio. God of War II director Cory Barlog rejoined this August, so there should still be plenty of people familiar with Kratos' bloody, bloody work for any future God of War games. Barlog has said his current project is "freaking huge," and smart money has it on being Sony Santa Monica's PS4 debut title.